South Uist #OuterHebrides #holiday

So, continuing on up the Outer Hebrides from Eriskay, a single road runs the length of the island of South Uist. On the left (travelling north) the land is flat, with numerous small lochs and tons of ruins amongst the inhabited houses. On the right, ridges of hills, not quite mountains, many the sites of military bases including a missile test range built during the Cold War.

Yep, that was a surprise to me too.

To our dismay, we discovered that the Outer Hebrides, despite maps displaying many sites of historical interest, have absolutely no signs on the islands to help you find them! After a while, we began to catch on – many of the sites are so ancient they are not actually visible at all. We became quite adept at spotting even the faintest of signs – a bump in the soil, a few stones, an outline on the ground.

It would have been so much more helpful if the islands, and the islanders, were actually able to provide more information for tourists, but at least this one was pretty obvious!

I promised Brian standing stones, and I delivered. A few more of those yet to come…

We drove down many dead end side roads, not sure that we’d find anything of interest, but we had all day so it was worth a go, and we came across these charming houses with thatched roofs held down by netting weighted with stones.

Just in case you’re tempted…

Perfect if you want to hide away from the world and write in peace. Or go fishing (as Brian does while I work)

This caught our eyes – a full-size replica of a Viking boat

One historic site that was marked and sign posted, was the birthplace of Flora MacDonald, the famous Scotswoman who helped Bonnie Prince Charlie during the Jacobite revolution. He took refuge on the islands following the Battle of Culloden, and escaped disguised as the Irish spinning maid, Betty Burke, with Flora and a manservant in a small boat which they rowed across the sea to Skye. That’s one hell of a row, folks, but I guess that was the only way in those days.

The birthplace of Flora MacDonald

Remains of the village below the Flora MacDonald monument

And yet again, fabulous beaches!

At the top end of South Uist we came across a giant sculpture that is part of a sculpture trail across the Hebrides. Again, its a shame there’s no information on how to find them, and the one I located on the map on Barra, was up and away in the hills, only accessible via a long hill walk.

This one had a car park, so we visited.

“Our Lady of the Isles”

And then it was onward, to North Uist, by crossing this causeway with its (hopeful) sign

Ha ha, no, it isn’t, but if you go back to the first post of this holiday you’ll see me struggling to film during the chucking rain and wind of Hurricane Ophelia.
The rest of the week was find, as it often is in Scotland in October, which is one of the reasons I holiday then (also less tourists!), but I also follow Billy Connolly’s approach: “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing.”